Christmas Solace
by PEANUT v1.2
Summary: Everyone has a story to tell. While Sora and Kairi both have very different stories to tell about Christmas Eve, both stories lead to their reunion. SoKai 3-shot.
1. T'was The Night Before Christmas

**T'was The Night Before Christmas**

_It was the night before Christmas, and up at the North Pole,  
Everybody's going crazy; Everything's out of control. _

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Sora groaned, looking at the jolly old man in front of him. But Santa wasn't joking or pulling off an elaborate practical joke. The brunet looked behind him and saw the toyshop lit on fire, elves currently screaming and running out the door that Santa stood a few feet in front of. How could this have happened?

"I warned ya never trust those elves!" Mrs. Claus hollered at her husband, storming over and hitting him on the shoulder with angered eyes. "Look at what they did this time!"

"I didn't know they would set the entire shop on fire!" Santa exclaimed.

"Oh, so you thought they would just set _part _of it on fire," his wife said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "That's so much better!"

"A-at least nobody was hurt," Roxas inserted, standing next to Sora. Sora looked over at his friend, knowing that Roxas had just made a crucial mistake that Sora and Riku didn't make: You don't interrupt a married couple when they were arguing.

"Yeah, right," Mrs. Claus said with a frown. "The reindeer barely made it out of there. Do you know how awful it would have been if they hadn't made it out?"

"Of course I know!" Santa said. "And look, everyone did make it out safely. Only a few gifts were lost, and the elves are trying to put out the fire now." As if on cue, a loud explosion rang out through the area, a ball of fire consuming the entire toyshop. It was then that Santa said something that Sora wouldn't expect an elderly old man to say. "Aw, crap."

"Yeah, crap," Mrs. Claus agreed. "This is the most important day of the year. Christmas Eve. And the **toyshop** is on **fire**!"

"But most of the gifts are already in the sleigh," Roxas inserted again, making Sora wish that his Nobody would just shut up. "Santa can still deliver everything…"

"….."

"…What?" Roxas asked, seeing their expressions.

"The sleigh was in the toyshop. The elves wanted to decorate it…." Mrs. Claus lifted a hand to her face, though she quickly lowered it and hit her husband in the arm. "You fool!"

"Now, now, calm down dear," Santa said in an attempt to sooth her nerves. "It just so happens that the elves threw most of the presents out the window before things got too bad. They're still alright…"

"But the **sleigh** is on **fire**!"

"Then I'll find another way to deliver the gifts!" Santa exclaimed, lifting his hands and rubbing his temples. If the smoke wasn't giving him a headache, then Sora would believe that it was Mrs. Claus. Yikes…

"…"

"Boys?" Santa asked, looking up at Sora standing between Roxas and Riku before he shifted his gaze to generally look over all three of them. "Do you have any ideas?"

Sora and Riku were both silent, though they did glance over at each other as they tried to come up with a solution. They had just randomly come here to see if there was a Heartless threat before Christmastime, but then they got sucked into this mess. At least the two of them were smart enough not to intervene with Mr. and Mrs. Claus's argument.

"Hitch-hiking!" Roxas said after a few moments, snapping his hand as if he had come up with some brilliant idea. Sora looked over and glared at him under his surprised expression, the other three people doing the same. "W-what?" he said with a startled expression.

"Hitch-hiking across worlds, Roxas?" Riku asked with an arched eyebrow. Sora agreed, though he didn't say anything. _Seriously Roxas? _

"Alright wise-guy," the Nobody replied smoothly. "You have any better ideas?"

"…"

"Exactly."

Santa sighed, reentering the conversation. "This is hopeless. We need to come up with a solution for this…"

Mrs. Claus sighed as well, shaking her head. "Might as well pack up the gifts. Christmas is cancelled this year."

"No," Santa said. "Christmas is **never** cancelled. I'll get those gifts to those children…" He looked over Roxas, Sora, and Riku in thought. What could they do to save Christmas? Surely those boys could help; he didn't believe that they were here just by coincidence. Santa glanced at the three boys, his eyes lighting up when he had an idea. "That's it!"

"Hm?" Sora hummed in interest, seeing Santa staring at him oddly. What…"

"Mitchel! Jordan!" Santa called, summoning two of his elves over to him. "Go to the warehouse and get the extra elf suits. Three of them for the Keyblade wielders."

Sora heard Riku grunt, startled. Sora was too, seeing the elves run off. "Santa…What…?" Sora trailed off, looking at the man in curiosity and concern.

Santa merely lifted his hands, setting them on Sora's shoulders as he looked up into the teens bright blue eyes. "Sora, you've saved countless worlds," he said. "Now it's time to save Christmas."

_I can't believe I'm doing this,_ Sora thought, hands on the Gummi ship's steering wheel as he flew between the worlds. He was the only one strapped in completely, Riku, Roxas, and Santa with minimal straps over them so they could move quickly once they landed on the worlds. Fortunately for Sora, since he knew how to fly the Gummi ship best, he was the pilot.

What were the others doing? Dropping off gifts, of course. Only instead of using Santa's sleigh and reindeer, they were using a Gummi ship. And since that slowed them down, Santa needed assistants to help him drop off the gifts in houses. That was where Riku and Roxas came in.

Sora glanced over his shoulder, seeing his two best friends dressed up in green elf clothing. Shorts, long-sleeve shirts, high socks…And the hats. They were fully suited up as elves.

Riku caught Sora staring at him and glared at him, making Sora's eyes widen as he turned around to face forward in his seat again. He gulped, tugging at the collar of his own elf-suit. Riku really wasn't happy about this…But if they were caught dropping off gifts, it was better that they were mistaken for elves than thieves.

If there was one thing Sora was learning through the situation, it was this: It was hard to have Christmas joy when one was in an elf suit and being forced to travel to all the worlds to deliver Christmas gifts.

"Sora, go faster!" Santa said from his seat.

And another thing Sora learned: Santa was a backseat driver.

The brunet sighed, doing as he was told. They were almost done…The only world that they had left was his own: Destiny Islands. That realization made his heart beat more quickly. He hadn't been home in months, taking care of business around the worlds with Roxas and Riku. Would he have the chance to visit Kairi? Could he stay at home for good this time? It seemed like the worlds were at peace.

"Stop daydreaming, Sora!" Santa yelled. "Focus on getting us there in time. We gotta have those gifts there before midnight."

Again, Sora sighed, but he complied. Santa was the worst backseat driver ever…Who would have guessed? He put the ship in full throttle and drove ahead, getting closer and closer to his home.

"Why before midnight?" Roxas asked, still not smart enough to leave out his comments and questions. Regardless, Santa answered.

"Because that's the way it's always been done!" Santa exclaimed. "There's something magical about having them under the Christmas tree right before midnight…And besides, it's my** job** to get it done before Christmas."

"But it's not _our _job to do your work for you and dress in ridiculous costumes," Riku mumbled, the words audible to all the people on the ship.

"Aw, come now Riku, where's your Christmas spirit?" Santa asked in a more cheerful tone.

"At home," he replied smoothly. "Where** I** should be."

_I know how you feel, Riku,_ Sora thought, glancing downward in thought. He really wanted to be home, too. There was a Christmas tradition he had with his best friend Kairi, and he didn't want to break that. But at this rate, he wouldn't get home in time to do it. And he had planned on making this year special, too…

"You boys'll be home before the sunrise if Sora speeds up," Santa assured them, though he again hinted at Sora's driving. Sora, though, didn't pay attention to the back-seat driving anymore.

"You really mean it?" he asked in excitement. They would be home before sunrise? Then he could still have his Christmas tradition with Kairi!

"Yeah, so hurry it up, Sora!" Santa strictly yelled from the back. "We've got a lot of presents to deliver to make that happen."

Sora smiled widely, ignoring Santa's harsh order because of his optimism. "Yes, sir!" he said, putting the ship in full throttle and speeding ahead. It was time to finish this, before Riku murdered Santa and before the sun rose. It was time to return to Kairi and make this her best Christmas ever.

**Later**

The presents were delivered. Sora joyfully dropped off Santa at the workshop, both joyful because the task was done and because Santa couldn't be a backseat driver any longer. But he was even more exuberant that he could go home and surprise Kairi before she woke up.

Riku and Roxas were already asleep by the time that Sora returned, since he was the only one who drove Santa back to his world. Both of them got changed out of their elf suits as soon as they got home, and that was what Sora did when he was there for good. He felt terrific, changing back into more comfortable clothes. And to see the snow outside…It was great. It hardly ever snowed on his world, but he loved it when it did.

Careful not to wake up his friends, he snuck back out of his house and towards another one nearby: Kairi's. It wasn't time for the "tradition" yet; that would come in the morning. But he prepared for it diligently and then waited.

_Kairi, I can't wait to see your face when you see I came home._


	2. Empty Tree

**Empty Tree**

_I look under the tree…but there's nothing to see. 'Cause it's a broken heart that you're giving me._

Kairi sighed, looking away from the Christmas tree that stood in the corner of her living room. There were gifts all right; her parents had gotten her and her adopted sister Naminé plenty of gifts. And, just like they always did, her parents set them under the tree one by one until all of them were out on Christmas Eve. That was when Kairi knew that she wasn't getting what she really wanted this year.

She wanted her best friend.

Sora wasn't home right now, and it was so heartbreaking for Kairi because she knew that he would have loved the snow that had fallen on Destiny Islands today, Christmas Eve. He had always exuberantly spoke about the snow that he saw when he was in Christmas Town on his last mission, when he had been working to put an end to Organization XIII.

But now Sora was gone again, off on another mission that put him and her other best friend Riku in danger. She remembered the day they left like it was yesterday, though she wished that the memories weren't so vivid in her mind. She had been so sad, so sorrowful…just like she was now.

Every year at Christmas time, Sora snuck in the window around midnight and dropped off a present under her tree. It was a tradition he had done ever since they knew each other, and she had always been pleasantly surprised to see the gifts he left. Last year he hadn't been around to drop off a gift, but somehow she found a note under her tree that pleased her. It was in Riku's handwriting, and he had said that he was watching Sora's back while he was busy with something. Kairi didn't know what that "something" was, but she supposed that it was better that way. She never did like hearing that her boys were in danger.

This year, she knew that she wouldn't be getting anything from Sora or Riku. They were together on a mission, and they had been doing that for the past three months and four days. But who was counting?

The redhead sighed and walked back to the couch, the living room currently empty except for her. Her parents had gone to bed a while ago, and Kairi didn't care about where Naminé was right now. She just needed time…she needed time to accept that her friends weren't returning.

"Kairi…" Naminé said, entering the room and sitting on the couch next to her Somebody. "You okay?"

"Of course not," Kairi responded with a weak smile and a laugh without any humor.

"I know," Naminé said softly, diverting her gaze to the ground and tucking back a strand of hair. Of course she knew how Kairi was feeling; she was in the same boat, only it was Roxas that she was missing. He was with Sora and Riku, the three of them working together to accomplish their goal. They had hoped that having three of them on one task would help things go more quickly, but obviously it wasn't working out. Three months was way too long.

"Don't stay up too late," Naminé said after a few moments, rising to her feet and looking at Kairi on the couch.

"I can't make any promises," Kairi replied with a weak smile still present on her lips. Naminé nodded, seeming to accept her answer before she turned and headed towards her bedroom. Kairi stayed where she was the entire time, hearing the soft footsteps and then eventually hearing the sound of a door softly shutting.

Once she was alone, Kairi sighed, pulling up her legs and setting her feet on the couch as she hugged her legs. She couldn't help but stare at the tree and feels the tears in her eyes. _Sora…You're not coming back this time._ Would she ever see him again? He was gone for so long, and without saying a word to her during that time. She never felt so alone, even if she had Naminé's support.

Both of them were heartbroken, unable to help each other with their problems. And, of course, their parents couldn't help either; they didn't know about the responsibility their boys had with protecting the worlds. Nobody could ever know, and that secret was just another burden for Kairi and Naminé during this rough time.

Kairi stared at the tree for a long while before she lay down on the couch, still staring at the lit-up tree. It was so beautiful, and so were the gifts that were set underneath it. But she couldn't see the beautiful blue eyes that she loved, and that was what stuck with her.

The chiming of the grandfather clock entered her ears, and she looked over to see the time. 12:00. Midnight. If Sora was coming, he would have been climbing through the window right now. She looked towards the window but then felt like a fool, seeing that the window remained shut and nobody was trying to break in to leave a gift.

Her tired eyes shut, and she swallowed so her tears wouldn't fall. Sora…Riku….Roxas…None of them were coming home for Christmas.

With that sad thought, she drifted off to sleep, unconsciousness temporarily taking away her sorrow.

**The Next Morning**

"Kairi, wake up," Naminé said, shaking her Somebody's shoulder lightly. Kairi groggily opened her eyes, seeing the room fully lit and the blonde girl she loved standing in front of her.

"Morning?" she asked groggily.

"Yeah," Naminé confirmed. "But look," she said, pointing to the tree. Kairi sat up and looked over, seeing a huge box sitting there. "Mom and Dad must have brought out one last gift to surprise us!"

Kairi heard Naminé's excitement, and she forced a small smile to humor her. But…she couldn't help but be curious at the appearance of the box. Her parents had put out all the gifts on Christmas Eve, hadn't they?

"Kairi, go ahead and open it," her mom encouraged, standing by the doorway with her father. The redhead looked over and smiled softly, nodding as she pushed herself up off the couch. She straightened her jeans and shirt on the way over, surprised she had allowed herself to fall asleep in such clothing. Regardless, she stopped in front of the box and saw that it was marked for her to receive. It didn't say who it was from, but her parents never did bother putting that information on there. If it was Sora, he would have.

She exhaled a soft breath as a sigh, but then forced herself to reach forward and tried to get a grip on a piece of wrapping paper. Her fingers slid right off, and she tried to grab the corner again until she found a piece she should tear. She pulled off a small strip but then was able to grab onto a larger area, that tear helping her rip off a lot of the red paper. She managed to get the top and part of the sides uncovered, but she was confused when it was just a normal cardboard box. What could have been in there?

Ignoring her questions, Kairi looked for the end of the tape that was keeping the box closed. It took her a few moments to find it, but when she did, she managed to get a good grip on it and pull it so that it allowed her to open the box. She found the wings of the cardboard box and pulled them away, revealing what was inside the box.

Packing peanuts?

"**Raaaa!"**

"_**AHHHH**_!" Kairi screamed, jumping back and falling onto her butt when a figure popped out of the box and screamed at her. _What the?_

A burst of warm chuckles entered her ears when she calmed down, and she looked up to see a person standing up in the box, packing peanuts covering the ground now. But then she saw who the person was.

"Sora!" she shrieked, rising to her feet and staring at the spiky haired boy who was laughing at her. He was here!

"Surprise," he said with a trademark smirk, climbing out and making a mess with the packing peanuts. Neither he or Kairi seemed to notice, because as soon as he was out of the box, Kairi ran forward and embraced him tightly, nearly tackling him and forcing him into the box.

"Easy," he laughed, embracing him back.

"You…you **goof**!" she scolded, feeling her eyes get moist both because of her surprise mixed with joy. "You nearly scared me to death!"

"That wouldn't have been the best Christmas gift, would it?" Sora asked in humor, only to feel Kairi lightly smack the back of his head at his joking. "But seriously," he said as he loosened his grasp on Kairi. "I got you a real gift. It's in the box."

Kairi eventually loosened her hold of Sora to the point of releasing him, giving him a look of bemused suspicion as she walked past him and went to the box. She shuffled through the packing peanuts the best that she could only to find some items grouped together somewhere in there. She pulled it out, seeing a black hat, gloves, and scarf set. A warm smile appeared on her lips as she turned around, seeing Sora staring at her. "Thanks."

"Why don't we try those out?" he asked.

"You mean, go outside?" Kairi asked dumbly.

"Exactly, goof," Sora said with a smirk. The redhead nodded smiled once she caught onto the joke and started putting it all on, realizing that the tags were already off. It didn't take her long to put it on, but then she noticed somebody walk right over to her side. She looked up and saw Naminé standing there, offering her a winter coat. Kairi smiled softly and took it, putting it on. If Sora was here, didn't that mean that Roxas was too? And Riku? She didn't ask questions, instead looking to Sora when she was set.

Sora led the way, nodding to her parents in greeting politely before he went for the door. Her parents…had they known about this? Again, Kairi chased away the thoughts and followed Sora as he opened the door and walked outside. Only, Kairi stopped by the door to put on boots. It took her a few moments, but then she walked outside.

"Sora?" she called, not seeing him anywhere. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Naminé come out behind her in her coat and boots, shutting the door to keep the heat inside the house. "Sor?" she called again.

A blob of snow splattered in her face, forcing the girl to squeeze her eyes shut and cough in surprise. She lifted a hand and wiped it off, rolling her eyes when she guessed on the guilty party. "Sora," she said, opening her eyes and looking out in front of her. But Sora wasn't the one standing there.

"Riku!" Kairi shrieked in joy, running forward and nearly tackling him in an embrace like she had done with Sora. Both of her boys…they were home! They were both safe, and not hurt. This was the perfect Christmas gift.

"Hey, Kai," he greeted, smirking at the girl in his arms. Kairi giggled and pulled back, seeing Sora standing off to the side. She saw Riku look to Naminé on the porch, and so she headed over towards the boy she had loved since the day she met him. "Naminé, come here," Riku called to their other friend, realizing that her boyfriend was the one that she really wanted to see right now.

The blonde walked forward, almost looking as if she felt a little shy. But Kairi knew that wasn't it. As close as Naminé was to Riku and Sora, neither of them were Roxas. She approached Riku and walked into his open arms, giving and receiving a hug from one of her best friends.

After a few moments, Riku and Naminé both turned away, and Riku set his hands on Naminé's shoulders. She looked up at him in confusion when he guided her to turn in the other direction, facing towards the house once again. He kept his hands there, the message loud and clear. _There's something you're supposed to see. _

Kairi looked up at the same time as Naminé, catching sight of what they were supposed to see. "Roxas!" Naminé cried, seeing her boyfriend crouched on the roof of their home. Roxas smirked and jumped down from the roof, and in a few moments, Naminé found her way into his arms, having sprinted over as soon as he landed.

Watching from the sidelines, Kairi couldn't help but smile. She recognized Naminé's excitement as something that she had experienced herself when she first saw both Sora and Riku. She was so glad that she wasn't the only one who had a happy ending this Christmas day.

"Come with me," Sora whispered in Kairi's ear. The girl turned to look at Sora when he spoke, and after seeing his eyes and feeling his hand lightly grab her wrist, she turned and followed him, leaving Riku, Roxas, and Naminé to their reunion. Sora led Kairi around to her backyard, and she looked around without thought. Everything was normal; why did Sora bring her here?

"I have one more gift for you," he said softly, standing in front of Kairi and not moving out of her way so that she could see something.

Kairi tried to look past him in curiosity, not understanding what kind of material gift Sora would have in the back yard. When she didn't see anything, she looked back to him. He wasn't holding out a material gift for her to take. Instead, he held her gaze. And then he did something unbelievable.

He leaned forward and gave Kairi a kiss on the lips.

Kairi felt her eyes widen in surprise at first, but then instinct took over. She shut her eyes like Sora had and lightly kissed him back, her hand also finding his arm during those few moments. In many ways, those few moments were the longest and shortest she ever experienced. She had waited so long for this day, just like she had waited for so long for the boy she secretly loved to return home.

After a few moments, Sora pulled back, and both of them looked at each other in a new light.

"Merry Christmas, Kairi," Sora said. "I love you."


	3. It's The Most Wonderful Time

**It's The Most Wonderful Time…**

Later that day, after the excitement died down and everyone gathered inside, Sora, Roxas, and Riku told the girls about their crazy Christmas Eve excitement. Roxas described how they were all forced into elf costumes, and because Riku hated the costumes so much, he talked about how Roxas was dumb and kept interrupting the Claus's arguments. Of course, it was all in good nature, so Roxas wasn't offended. How could anyone be upset on such a wonderful Christmas day?

Sora, though, felt like he had the funniest thing to say. He described (with some exaggeration) how Santa was the worst back-seat driver in the world. That made the girls crack up, and when Riku was over the whole "elf" thing, he laughed as well. The laughter with his friends made Sora pleased. Even after being away for a few months, it seemed as if nothing changed.

Well, not "nothing". Sora looked down at Kairi's hand in his, a smile reappearing on his lips. He was finally together with her. After he told her he loved her, things only went along more smoothly. She loved him too, she said. She loved him as long as she knew him. Sora wished he would have known sooner, but there was no way he could change the past.

There was one thing that Sora knew for sure, though. It was something he suspected for a long time, but this year made it absolutely certain in his book that his theory was true.

Christmas really was the best time of year.

_Author's note:_

_Well, everyone, I hope that you enjoyed my Christmas 3-shot. It was a lot of fun to write, even if it did take me a really long time to get it all done so it was excellent. _

_Just to let you know, the quotes at the start of the chapters were not ones by me. xD Sora's was "Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town" by Relient K, and Kairi's was "I Hate Christmas Parties" by Relient K. So look up the songs if you want, I think they're pretty good. _

_If you like SoKai, check out some other oneshots I've written for Kingdom Hearts. If you like my writing style in general, check out everything else I've written. ;) Please review my stories if you've read them; it's very encouraging and it takes you about a minute. How much easier can it get?_

_Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!_


End file.
